Smart reminder alarm for cars and other devices

ABSTRACT

A reminder device includes a frame-shaped base defining an opening and configured to be mounted over and around an operational button/handle located in a vehicle or in a home; a lid coupled to the frame-shaped base and configured to close over said frame-shaped base, covering said opening and blocking access to said operational button/handle; a circuit configured to product an audible message upon receiving a trigger signal, said circuit being located in at least one of said framed-shaped base and said lid; and a switch including a first component located on said frame-shaped base and a second component located on said lid and so configured that when said first component and second component are separated from each other by a predetermined distance, when the lid is opened, the switch causes the creation of said trigger signal and the production of said audible alarm.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application is a continuation-in-part of prior U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/564,411, filed Sep. 9, 2019, by YeoshuaSorias, and entitled “SMART REMINDER ALARM FOR CARS AND OTHER DEVICES,”which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/819,306, filed Mar. 15, 2019. The entire contents ofeach of these patent applications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to a reminder alarm and moreparticularly to an alarm configured to prevent forgetting something inthe car and/or other places.

The prior art relating to the present invention is exemplified by UnitedStates Patent Publications 2016/0307432, 2016/0272114, 2008/0088426,2007/0268119, 2004/0164856 and 2003/0122662, the contents of which areincorporated by reference herein.

As described in various prior-art documents including in United StatesPatent Publication 2007/0268119, every year, children are injured or diedue to being left unattended inside of parked vehicles, and in someinstances, these children are left only for a few minutes. Morealarming, the numbers of deaths due to this have been increasing eachyear. It certainly is not the intention of the vehicle operators tosubject these children to such dangers. In many cases, the vehicleoperators just need simple reminding of the presence of the children.

If the outdoor temperature is 90° F., the interior temperature of aparked vehicle can rise to 125° F. in only twenty minutes. After anothertwenty minutes, the temperature can rise to 150° F., and even if thevehicle's windows are open, the interior temperature will only be 10° F.cooler, which is still a dangerous level. Being exposed to temperaturesof 100° F. can be fatal to a small child. Such heat rapidly overwhelmsthe ability of small children's bodies to regulate their owntemperatures. When exposed to such temperatures in the closedenvironment of an automobile, children's bodies can go into shock andcirculation to vital organs will begin to fail, resulting in heat strokein just a few minutes.

This circumstance can happen even when outdoor temperatures are cool.Even if the outdoor temperature is as low as 60° F., the interiortemperature of a vehicle can reach fatal levels for a child in less thantwenty minutes. This danger is far more lethal than commonly realized,made evident by the increase in annual occurrences of fatality due tothis circumstance. A child's core body temperature can increasethree-to-five times faster than an adult's, so even a quick stop at thestore can be fatal to a young child. Unfortunately, not enough adultsare aware of this risk.

Some parents admittedly believe that it is perfectly fine to leave asmall child alone in a car, and for first-time parents of agestwenty-four and younger, the belief that this potentially fatal incidentis perfectly acceptable is more common than with older parents. Theperception of this risk is becoming more well-known, and today it isillegal in twelve (12) states to leave a child unattended in a parkedvehicle. Unfortunately, these strategic legal efforts have not provencompletely effective as children are still left alone inside of parkedvehicles.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for alerting vehicle operatorsof the presence of a child in the vehicle. There is also a need for amethod of reminding the vehicle operators of the dangers of leaving achild unattended in a parked vehicle.

The prior art reveals that the approach to child safety that has beenemployed in the past was to sense the presence of a child in a car seatlocated in the vehicle. However, this requires special car seatsoutfitted with very sophisticated child detection circuitry that raisesthe expense and is likely to result in many people opting not topurchase such special car seats.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide childsafety and alarm devices that overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an easilyinstallable and very inexpensive device that provides a reminder tocheck whether a baby is in the car before leaving a vehicle.

The foregoing other objects of the invention are realized by means of asimple product that fits around and covers the car ignition on/off pushbutton and that outputs an alarm sound every time the vehicle is eitherturned on or turned off by its driver, to remind the driver/parent/adultto check for the presence of a baby in the vehicle.

In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, a tiny voicerecorder is attached to the buckle of the driver's seatbelt and therecorder is triggered to play a pre-recorded message whenever theseatbelt is removed from the buckle. The message can be, for example,“Don't forget baby.” “Stop for groceries.” or the like. The message isvery short on the order of less than thirty seconds and can be freelyre-recorded at the driver's whim.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, an accelerometer is affixedto the seatbelt whereby when the seatbelt is opened and a motion is madein a diagonal direction to remove it to the back of the seat, ittriggers the recorder to issue its message.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the device of the presentinvention includes a frame-shaped base defining an opening andconfigured to be mounted over and around an operational button/handlelocated in a vehicle or in a home; a lid coupled to the frame-shapedbase and configured to close over said frame-shaped base, covering saidopening and blocking access to said operational button/handle; a circuitconfigured to product an audible message upon receiving a triggersignal, said circuit being located in at least one of said framed-shapedbase and said lid; and a switch including a first component located onsaid frame-shaped base and a second component located on said lid and soconfigured that when said first component and second component areseparated from each other by a predetermined distance, when the lid isopened, the switch causes the creation of said trigger signal and theproduction of said audible alarm.

The circuit may include a portable recorder that is removeably mountedto a buckle of the seatbelt system. For example, the circuit includes arecorder that is mounted to a flexible strap of a seatbelt system andincluding an accelerometer that senses the movement of the strap when itis disengaged from a buckle to thereby trigger the production of apre-recorded audible message.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the reminder devicecomprises an audio circuit configured to product an audible message uponreceiving a trigger signal; and a trigger circuit electrically coupledto a vehicle grid power through a power connecter and configured toproduce and to provide to the audio circuit the trigger signal inresponse to sensing a shut off the vehicle grid power. Preferably, thedevice includes a USB cable for coupling to the reminder device thevehicle grid power. Preferably, the audible message is in the form of avoice message concerning a young child that may be in the vehicle. Inanother embodiment, the audible message is in the form of a voicemessage concerning a task to be performed upon leaving the vehicle.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the invention which refers tothe accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a vehicle child minder of the presentinvention in accordance with the first embodiment thereof.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the vehicle child minder of FIG. 1 in an openposition.

FIG. 3 is another perspective of FIG. 1 partially in exploded view.

FIG. 4 diametrically illustrates operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a further exploded view of the device of FIG. 4.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C explicate the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 illustrates a conventional automobile door opening handle.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the invention configured to fit overthe door handle of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows the child minder device of FIG. 8 in an open position.

FIG. 10 shows the device of FIG. 9 mounted over the door handle.

FIG. 11 shows a mode of attaching the device of FIG. 9 to a vehicle carbody.

FIG. 12 shows a further feature of the child minder device of FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 shows a recorder component and its trigger for the embodiment ofFIG. 9.

FIG. 14 shows an attaching mode for the device of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 shows the device of the present invention mounted to arefrigerator door.

FIG. 16 shows the device of the present invention mounted to a vehicledoor.

FIG. 17 shows the device of the present invention mounted to a home oroffice door.

FIG. 18 shows a further embodiment of the invention in which a childminder device is located at the seatbelt buckle of the vehicle.

FIG. 19 shows a variant of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 shows another variant of FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 further explicates the mounting of one variant of the childminder of the present invention to adjustable strap of the seat beltsystem.

FIG. 22 is a diagram of a fifth embodiment of the invention which playsa warning message when an automobile's ignition is turned off.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the invention, showing the vehicle childminder device 10 to be a round, circular disc with an interior that issubstantially open and that fits around the ignition push on/off button5 (FIG. 6A) of modern vehicles. The device comprises a base 12 that fitsover and around the ignition push button and an openable cover 14.

In FIG. 2 are shown a number of components of the device 10 includingits battery cover 11 which can be opened to install a battery 13 a (FIG.3) to power an interior circuit that is located in the top and bottomhousings 12, 14, which circuitry produces an audible sound throughspeaker holes 13, every time the top housing or lid 14 is liftedrelative to its base 12 which is attached to the body of the vehiclearound the on/off ignition push-button. The circuitry that generates theaudible message or tone is conventional and does not require descriptionor explication. Playing of the audible message is initiated by aconventional trigger signal that is activated when a switch is opened orclosed, as widely known in the art. The comparative dimensional sizes ofthe components are illustrated in FIG. 3, including the battery 13 a.

FIG. 4 shows further details of a magnetic attachment.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view that illustrates the top housing 14 a (FIG.6B) including a magnetic ring, and a bottom housing 12 a holding thecircuitry and the battery. The top/bottom housing is pivotally connectedto a stand via a hinge 16. The band 3 is magnetic and attaches to ametal plate 1 that can be glued to the vehicle dashboard around theignition push button. The need for the adhesive tape is because thepanel of a car is usually made of plastic rather than metal. However, ifthere is any metal, then the band could be adhered directly around thevehicle ignition on/off push button.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C provide approximate sizes for the device of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 shows a prior art door handle 18 in a car door 19 with a handleinterior 19 a.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of a baby reminder mechanism 20 with norecording ability, just an alarm sound. The baby minder mechanism 20 hasa window or frame-shaped base 22 hingedly connected by hinge 34 to thetop lid 24 which houses therein a speaker 30 and circuitry (not shown)that is run by a battery 32. When the base 22 is fitted around thehandle 18, access to the handle is covered by the lid 24. However, whenthe lid 24 is opened, the magnet 28 interacts with the base magnet 26which activates the speaker 30 alerting the driver.

FIG. 9 shows the device in FIG. 8 placed over/around door handle 14. Itcomprises an open frame 22 that is adhesively attached to the door,centered over the door handle 14. The lid 24 has a magnet activatedswitch 28. When the lid is closed, the switch is closed. With the lid isopened, the switch is open and a pre-set message plays. A person mustaccess the door handle to leave the car, and therefore switch activationof the minder device becomes an involuntary action.

FIG. 10 shows the device in FIG. 8 with the lid closed.

FIG. 11 shows the rear of device in FIG. 8 in the lid closed position.It shows adhesive strips 23, 25 for attaching to the door. The speakerin the lid is visible through the opening in the lower frame.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of a minder 40 with an ability torecord, play back and delete the message so it can be customized for anytype of reminder. See the recorder control 16 with a play button 64, arecord button 66 and a delete button 68. When the record button ispressed, the microphone 62 receives the sound that is recorded in thememory of the recorder 60. When the magnets 48 and 46 are activated (aswhen the top is rotated around the hinge 44), the recorder 60 isactivated producing the recorded sound through the speaker 50. Thecircuitry is powered by the battery 52.

FIG. 13 shows a magnet switched device with the custom message abilitiesof the FIG. 12 device. In this figure, the play button 64, the recordbutton 66 and the delete button 68 are the same as in FIG. 12, as is thespeaker 61 and the microphone 62. However, the magnet switch 63 is shownlocated adjacent the magnet 72 of the device 70 so that when the two areseparated, the voice is activated.

FIG. 14 shows the rear of the device in FIG. 13, with adhesive mountingstrips 65, 67, 70 and 77. It can be mounted to any surface, as shown inFIGS. 9-11. It can be mounted to any surface that has a door-like actionof a stationary frame with a movable door or window. A toy box with amessage to clean up your toys is another example. “Remember to turn offthe light” could be the message on a closet door or basement door.

FIG. 15 shows the FIG. 13 device on two refrigerator styles, able todisplay “Remember to buy milk.”

FIG. 16 shows the FIG. 13 device on the interior of a car door.

FIG. 17 shows the FIG. 13 device on the ordinary interior home door 90with the message “Remember to turn on the alarm.”

FIG. 18 shows a seatbelt version, using a magnet switch and a recordablemessage. A hinged flap switch covers the seat belt switch. The flap mustbe rotated and activate the device to access seatbelt removal. Morespecifically, the buckle 111 associated with the seatbelt 129 is affixedto the body of the car with the strip 113. Adhered to the outside of thebuckle by glue or by an open housing is the recorder 80 with its variouscontrols and speaker as shown. The speaker is activated by magnet 83when the metal clasp 125 of the seatbelt 121 is removed from itsreceptacle or buckle 115, as previously described.

FIG. 19 shows a second embodiment of the seatbelt device. The device hasa switch that rides in a channel. The switch is an upside down L. Thethickened tab overlaps the seatbelt switch. One must push tab in to thenpush seatbelt switch in. Magnets in the base of the L switch makecontact and activate the message.

In an alternate embodiment shown in dashed lines in FIG. 18, a recorder90 substantially identical to the recorder 80 shown in this figure ismounted instead of the buckle into the inserting head into the seatbeltstrap 123 and that recorder is coupled via an electrical line 132 to anaccelerometer 130 that is able to detect the motion of a seatbelt aswhen it is disengaged from the bottom buckle 111. In other respects, theoperation is identical to as described above. The accelerometer device130 is widely known in the field and available as an off-the-shelfdevice that can provide an on/off trigger signal to the recorder 90, allas previously described. See also FIGS. 20 and 21 that depict theforegoing.

In the embodiment of FIG. 22, the warning system 2210 includes recorder2250 which plays the aforementioned message(s) or produces the soundalerts in response to the trigger pulse 2256 being present at itstrigger terminal 2254, which can be once or repeated again and again forthe entire duration of the pulse 2256. The power and ground signals tothe recorder/player are provided via lines 2251/2250. The trigger signal2256 which lasts from several seconds to a minute or several minutes isproduced by the controller/trigger device 2260 which is powered vialines 2261/2260, and which is itself triggered by the down-going edge ofthe signal 2276, as explained below.

Normally, the system 2210 is connected to the automobile's battery powervia a power cable 2272 that terminates in a USB plug 2270 or the like,delivering to the cable a low voltage, e.g., 3.7 or 5 volts from aconventional charger. This is establishes power at pin 2274 which isdirected through inductor 2275 directly to the devices 2250 and 2260,while at the same time charging the capacitor 2266 via the law valueresistor 2267.

When the vehicle is turned off, the vehicle power ceases, but powercontinues to flow to the devices 2250 and 2260 from the capacitor for afew minutes. The control 2260 senses the vehicle's disappearing powerthrough the down going edge of the signal 2264, causing it output thetrigger pulse 2256, in a manner widely known in the digital art andrequiring no explanation.

In the circuit described above the player will play the warning message,once or several times, whenever power to the vehicle is turned off,without need to retrofit to the vehicle's ignition or door handle anydevices.

Although the present invention has been described in relation toparticular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modificationsand other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It ispreferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by thespecific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A reminder device, comprising: a frame-shapedbase defining an opening and configured to be mounted over and around anoperational button/handle located in a vehicle or in a home; a lidcoupled to the frame-shaped base and configured to close over saidframe-shaped base, covering said opening and blocking access to saidoperational button/handle; a circuit configured to product an audiblemessage upon receiving a trigger signal, said circuit being located inat least one of said framed-shaped base and said lid; and a switchincluding a first component located on said frame-shaped base and asecond component located on said lid and so configured that when saidfirst component and second component are separated from each other by apredetermined distance, when the lid is opened, the switch causes thecreation of said trigger signal and the production of said audiblealarm.
 2. The reminder device of claim 1, wherein the circuit includes arecorder circuit that enables recording a short audible message.
 3. Thereminder device of claim 2, wherein the message regards a reminder ofthe presence of a baby in the vehicle.
 4. The reminder device of claim1, wherein the frame-shaped base is configured to fit over and to adherearound a vehicle engine start/stop button.
 5. The reminder device ofclaim 1, wherein the frame-shaped base is configured to fit around adriver's door opening handle.
 6. The reminder device of claim 1,including adhesive strips associated with the frame-shaped base forenabling the frame-shaped base to be adhered to a body in which saidoperational button/handle is located.
 7. The reminder device of claim 1,wherein the first component and second components are magneticcomponents, at least one of which is capable of holding a switch in afirst position.
 8. The reminder device of claim 1, wherein the reminderdevice is mounted to a home entrance door.
 9. The reminder device ofclaim 1, wherein the reminder device is mounted to a refrigerator door.10. The reminder device of claim 1, wherein the reminder device isremovably mounted to a seatbelt system in a vehicle.
 11. The reminderdevice of claim 10, wherein the circuit includes a portable recorderthat is removeably mounted to a buckle of the seatbelt system.
 12. Thereminder device of claim 11, wherein the second magnetic component ismounted to a metal clasp of the seatbelt system.
 13. The reminder deviceof claim 10, wherein the circuit includes a recorder that is mounted toa flexible strap of a seatbelt system and including an accelerometerthat senses the movement of the strap when it is disengaged from abuckle to thereby triggers the production of a pre-recorded audiblemessage.
 14. A reminder device, comprising: a frame-shaped base definingan opening and configured to be mounted over and around an operationalbutton/handle located in a vehicle or in a home; a lid coupled to theframe-shaped base and configured to close over said frame-shaped base,covering said opening and blocking access to said operationalbutton/handle; a circuit configured to product an audible message uponreceiving a trigger signal, said circuit being located in at least oneof said framed-shaped base and said lid; and a recorder that is mountedto a flexible strap of a seatbelt system and including an accelerometerthat senses the movement of the strap when it is disengaged from abuckle to thereby triggers the production of a pre-recorded audiblemessage.
 15. The reminder device of claim 14, including a recorder forrecording therein the audible message.
 16. The reminder device of claim15, wherein the audible message relates to a child located in a vehicle.17. A reminder device, comprising: an audio circuit configured toproduct an audible message upon receiving a trigger signal; and atrigger circuit electrically coupled to a vehicle grid power through apower connecter and configured to produce and to provide to the audiocircuit the trigger signal in response to sensing a shut off the vehiclegrid power.
 18. The reminder device of claim 17, including a USB cablefor coupling to the reminder device the vehicle grid power.
 19. Thereminder device of claim 17, wherein the audible message is in the formof a voice message concerning a young child that may be in the vehicle.20. The reminder device of claim 17, wherein the audible message is inthe form of a voice message concerning a task to be performed uponleaving the vehicle.